You work hard to stay healthy by exercising regularly, following a healthy diet, and taking your vitamins and medications. You are committed to healthy practices in an effort to help you live the best life possible and to feel great every day. However, if you are planning on having plastic surgery, whether it be a breast augmentation, liposuction, a thigh lift, or any other procedure, you may need to work with your plastic surgeon to evaluate your medications, vitamins, and supplements.

Many medications, supplements, and vitamins will have no adverse effect on your plastic surgery plans, and depending on your situation, your surgeon may actually prescribe a few new ones to take temporarily before or after your surgery such as antibiotics or pain medication. However, there are some medications and over-the-counter products that should be stopped prior to surgery and not started again for some time afterwards. For your personal health and safety, it is important to follow your surgeon’s recommendations as closely as possible to avoid complications.

As many as half of all plastic surgery patients use at least some type of supplements or vitamins, and many more regularly take prescribed or over-the-counter medications. In your day-to-day life, these may provide you with great benefits; however, when combined with plastic surgery, some may have risk for adverse effects, some of which may be quite serious. During your consultation, be sure to bring a list of any medications, prescribed or over-the-counter, vitamins, and supplements that you take, including the dosages and frequency. If you take any type of blood-thinning medication, it is crucial that you share this information with your surgeon along with everything else on your list.

Many vitamins and supplements are considered herbal or all-natural preparations, and they may be safe for everyday use; however, a number of products may increase risk of bleeding, excess bruising, or other complications when combined with plastic surgery. If you take vitamin E, selenium, methylsulfonylmethane, or any products containing these supplements, be sure to let your surgeon know. Other supplements that may increase plastic surgery risks include fish oil, flax seed oil, ginko biloba, ginseng, wintergreen, saw palmetto, bilberry, and bromelain. Also, although they taste great in stir fry, if you take ginger or garlic supplements regularly, you will need to let your surgeon know as well. Ginger and garlic in supplement form are in much higher concentrations than what you likely consume in foods and may have some blood-thinning properties.

How long before surgery you will need to stop taking certain medications, supplements, or vitamins will vary depending on the item, dosage, frequency, and why you are taking it. Your health and well-being at every step of your plastic surgery journey should be priority number one, and following these instructions will be just one step towards a smooth path.

To learn more about your plastic surgery options and about how to prepare for surgery and sail through recovery, call Monarch Plastic Surgery today at (913) 663-383 for our Leawood and Lansing offices or (816) 436-3262 our Kansas City office to .